How Boris got me on my bike

Abby Rudland

04 November 2011

Until recently, the last time I braved a bike was 7 years ago when I wobbled around Berlin behind a bike-mad friend.

Before that? My parents gave me a racer when I was 14 but, shamefully, I was so jealous of my brother's much cooler mountain bike that I didn't ride it.

So it's safe to say I've never been an advert for the joys of cycling. Even when I moved to London, where one million Londoners own bikes, my feet stayed firmly on the ground.

I had some pretty good reasons for sticking with 2 legs instead of 2 wheels:

• I didn't fancy wearing cycling gear or performing Superman-style transformations into normal clothes in toilet cubicles.
• The roads were busy, polluted and terrifying.
• Getting hot and sweaty on the way to work didn't seem a great way to start the day.
• I couldn't face the cost of a bike or the hassle of repairs and punctures.

Then the London bike hire scheme started, with its bright blue Boris bikes. I joined because it was cheap and looked fun. There's no outlay for a bike - you just have to pay £45 for a year's subscription. After that it's free if you stick to journeys under half an hour.

With some patient tutoring from a friend, I learned that London roads are not to be feared and how to turn right at roundabouts. (Hint: it doesn't have to involve getting off and wheeling your bike round on the pavement).

For the benefit of any other cycling novices reading, I'll share some other things I've learned over the past year:

• You don't have to wear cycle gear
  A chain guard protects all but the flappiest of trousers. Although after reading about Adam's fall, I'm thinking about buying a helmet...
• London roads aren't scary
  if you follow the advice I got: "You have as much right to be on the road as the cars." Don't stick to the gutter - come out into the middle of your lane, where you'll be more visible.
• You don't get sweaty 
  if you cycle as slowly as I do.

I'm now such a convert that I cycle to work every day and often pedal off to meet friends afterwards too. It's usually quicker than the tube or the bus, and it's free.

I'm even toying with the possibility of getting a bike of my own, so I can gad about for longer than 30 minutes.

Who knows, a year from now, I may be training for the next Big Green Bike Ride. And, as I'm reliably informed there's a mechanic coming along, I wouldn't even need to learn how to fix punctures.

Abby Rudland, Volunteer